Moscow Image by wikimedia

(JTA) — Russia will receive its first Jewish university next month, the institution’s dean said.

Modeled after Yeshiva University in the United States, The Jewish University of Moscow is a private institution with a student body of 200 whose budget comes mostly from donors and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, dean Alexander Lebedev told JTA earlier this week.

The university — whose faculties include economics, law, humanities and Jewish studies – comprises two existing Jewish community colleges: Institute XXI century for men and Institute Machon CHaMeSH for women. Their reconstitution as campuses of a single, state-recognized university is a first in Russian history, according to Lebedev.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

In the new institution, “students will have the possibility to observe Torah, kosher food, Jewish holidays and Shabbat,” he said. The Jewish University of Moscow “will keep this format of education, like Yeshiva University, to become the one strong recognizable brand” in its field, he added.

Most of the 200 students who will begin studying in the university when it opens are on a scholarship paid by the donors and the Chabad-affiliated federation led Rabbi Alexander Boroda and Berel Lazar, a chief rabbi of Russia. Many of the students will also live in the dormitories of the new facility, which is located in northern Moscow.

An additional 10,000 students will receive educational services by the university remotely.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount